Thursday, October 1, 2026
The South Side/East Rockaway wrestling team rolled a lucky seven at the county qualifier.
Seven Cyclones will have an opportunity to reach the state championships this weekend after finishing among the top five at the Nassau 1 Qualifier hosted by Long Beach High School last Saturday. They include division winner Thomas Wagner (132 pounds), runner-up Joe Souto (110), third-place finisher Cobh Ferrick (215), and fourth-place competitors Nate Modico (118), Lucas Cortarzar (126), Collin Saltzman (145), and Logan Kelly (160.)
Coach Mike Robinson was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
“The seven surprised me,” he said. “I had a certain number in mind. I knew that Jojo, Thomas, Cobh could definitely qualify.”
Ryan Alfano (138) placed sixth and could be a wild card at the state qualifier at Nassau Community College.
Wagner, a senior who is now 27-2, pinned all four of his opponents in a combined time of 10 minutes, 17 seconds, tying him with Hewlett’s Kirk Smith for best at the event. He has not lost since Dec. 10.
“I think he’s got a really good shot to be in the finals,” Robinson said. “He’s one of the top kids in the county. There are some other kids out there that are pretty good, but I think Thomas is right there with everybody at that weight. That’s our next step.”
The top seeded Souto received byes in the first three rounds before earning a 17-0 technical fall in the semifinals. He hung tough in the final before falling in an 8-5 decision.
“Joe was really focused on trying to be All-County this year as a sophomore,” Robinson said. “He’s looking for one of those spots on the podium. I think he’s right there too.”
Ferrick recorded a 9-0 major decision victory in the Round of 16 and pinned Oceanside’s Andrew Cagno to reach the semifinals. He defeated Cagno again, this time in a close 4-3 decision, to clinch third place.
The team overall showed great improvement after New Year’s. After waiting until Dec. 21 to record their first dual win of the season, the Cyclones won four of their five matches to finish second at the Harold Earl Duals on Jan. 15 after defeating Garden City (41-36) and Glen Cove (51-24). They entered the qualifier after close losses to Herricks (39-34) on Jan. 26 and Lynbrook (35-29) two days later.
“I think the kids were more focused in practice,” Robinson said of his teams’ turnaround. “There’s an understanding that if they want to win, they’ve got to learn.”
Cortarzar, a sophomore from East Rockaway who first joined the team as an eighth grader, returned after breaking his leg during the football season and immediately gave the team a shot in the arm with pins against Herricks (28 seconds) and Lynbrook. He recorded a 9-6 win during the qualifier quarterfinals and a two-minute pinfall to advance to the finals of the consolation bracket.
Saltzman, a senior, temporarily wrestled at 152 in late January and recorded a pinfall victory against Herricks before a four-minute 16-0 technical fall triumph against Lynbrook.
